Day of Remembrance 2017: National List of Events

Commemorating the World War II incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, Day of Remembrance is observed on or around February 19th, the date President Roosevelt authorized the internment by signing Executive Order 9066 in 1942. We encourage you to attend a Day of Remembrance event in your area. All times are local.

Pacific Northwest:

Seattle, WA: Never AgainWhen: 2:00-3:00PM, Sunday, February 19, 2017Where: Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, Washington 98109
Japanese American WWII History and American Muslim Rights Today, a presentation and conversation examining Japanese American incarceration during World War II and how it relates to racism today. Presented in partnership with Densho, CAIR-Washington State andACLU of Washington. Special appearance by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Merced, CA: Day of Remembrance BanquetWhen: 5:00PM, Saturday, February 18, 2017Where: Merced County Fairgrounds, Pavilion Building, 900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Merced, CA.
The evening’s presentation will be David “Mas” Masumoto and daughter, Nikiko Masumoto. The program will end honoring those in attendance who were interned with a memento symbolizing their courage and determination.

No to Internment, No to Registry, No to Deportation! #DORLA2017 Donate: www.gofundme.com/day-of-remembrance-2017/donate

In addition to former Congressman Mike Honda and former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the program will feature a State Resolution presented by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, updates from community activists including Sahar Pirzada, Adriana Cabrera and cultural performers including Nobuko Miyamoto and UCLA Kyodo Taiko.

San Marcos, CA: Japanese Day of RemembranceWhen: 6:00-8:00pm, February 21, 2017Where: California State University San Marcos, USU Ballroom 2300 A/C, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd, San Marcos, CA 92096

Albuquerque, NM: From Days of Infamy to Days of Remembrance: A Japanese American JourneyWhen: 1:00-2:00 pm, Saturday, August 12, 2017Where: University of New Mexico, Maxwell Museum- Hibben Auditorium, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131

August 12 is the first of four presentations of this project that will be presented in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces in 2017. This project is part of a continuing series of community outreach programs sponsored by NMJACL that includes “Imprisonment of People of Japanese Ancestry During WW II” (with Sam Mihara); “Citizen Min in New Mexico”; “Barbed Wire and Cactus: WW II Prison Camps of the Southwest”; and “Asian American Legacy Stories” (in collaboration with the pan-Asian organization, Asian American Association of New Mexico).Future projects include a “Nisei Vets” portion of “Asian American Veterans of New Mexico.”

Salt Lake City, UT: Will America Let it Happen Again? When: 1:00-3:00pm, Saturday, February 25, 2017Where: Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 E. 400 S. Salt Lake City, UT 84101
This year’s event brings the Japanese American and Muslim Communities together to discuss the current political climate and parallels to Japanese American history of exclusion and internment.

St. Paul, MN: 75th Anniversary of Japanese American IncarcerationWhen: 2:00-4:00PM, Sunday, February 19, 2016Where: Minnesota History Center 3M Auditorium, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN
Attendees will commemorate the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, and reflect back on this constitutional crisis through a multi-media mix of music, images, and readings from the letters and diaries of incarcerees.The program will include a live readers’ theater performance directed by Rick Shiomi and narrated by David Mura.Readings will be performed by community members, including Jaylani Hussein, Kathryn Haddad, and Mustafa Jumale.Also performing is local taiko drum group, Kogen Taiko.

The event is free and open to the public.A reception will follow the program.Reservations are recommended by visiting www.mnhs.org/event/2351, or by calling (651) 259-3015. For more information contact Cheryl Dulas: dulas001@msn.com

Chicago, IL: Day of Remembrance. Time for ActionWhen: 2:00PM, Sunday, February 19, 2016Where: Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark StreetFeaturing a screening of “Orange Story” and “A Song for Manzanar” followed by poetry reading and panel discussion with the artists.Indianapolis, IN: Shinnenkai
When: 1:00PM, Saturday, February 18, 2017Where: Irvington Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, IN
Featuring Dr. David Suzuki, who will give an informational talk

Philadelphia, PA: Uprooted Exhibit: Japanese American Labor Camps During World War IIWhen: 2:00pm, Saturday, February 18, 2017Where: Friends Center, 1501 Cherry St. Philadelphia, PA 19102Contact Person: Teresa Maebori: jalaborcamps@gmail.com
The Philadelphia Chapter JACL will have an opening reception for the Uprooted Exhibit for our DOR.Our guest speaker will be David Milholland, co-curator of the exhibit.He is the President of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission that produced the Uprooted Exhibit.His speech is entitled: Seventy-five Years of Remembrance:Never Again Under Any Regime.The photo exhibit will feature 45 photographs taken by Russell Lee who was employed by the Farm Securities Administration. It is the first and perhaps only showing of the exhibit on the east coast.This exhibit will shed a light on the 33,000 Japanese and Japanese American incarcerees who volunteered out of the concentration camps to harvest sugar beets.

Day of Remembrance presents video clips by national competition awardees of the National Museum of Japanese American Memorial Foundation’s Digital Storytelling Project. High school storytellers include Carolyn Hoover, Reed Leventis, Halle Sousa, and Connor Yu. The conversation following the videos is moderated by Dr. Karen Ishizuka, award-winning filmmaker, author, and senior curator at the National Japanese American Museum, and includes Nisei Shigeru “Shig” Yabu, Sam Mihara, and Takashi “Tak” Hoshizaki.

View Objects Out of Storage relating to the Japanese American experience and enjoy hands-on cart activities. Followed by book signings by authors Karen Ishizuka and Shig Yabu.